Tag Archives: bloody Mary steak salad

Menu:

Mountain Caviar with Crackers

Rubbed Steak Strips with Bloody Mary Tomato Salad

Berries and Scoops of Ricotta with Balsamic-Honey-Mint Syrup

Keep the Fourth of July celebrations going with this vibrant menu of gifts from the farms in southwest Virginia. A perfect backyard menu, everything can be made ahead and presented to your guests within 20 minutes – you, the picture of a composed and graceful host!

Mountain Caviar; began life as Texas Caviar, developed by Helen Corbitt as a New Years Eve good luck side dish. Legend has it, she wasn’t fond of this legume, so she made them pickled and that was that. Later versions added stuff, like bell peppers and cilantro, but the field peas were left whole. The one we made in class has some of the ingredients roughly chopped in a food processor, some of the whole black-eye peas are left whole, for auld lang sine, but chopping the base product makes the dip more chip-friendly – you won’t be finding black-eye peas under your couch.

Garnishes: the last class we made Quick Pickles, the spicy pickled summer squash would be a nice touch around the side of the platter. I wish I’d thought of that last night when I was plating. I’ve got several jars left in the fridge…sigh.

Preparation

Arrange shredded romaine lettuce, and sliced celery on a large chilled platter. Sprinkle with table salt and black pepper to taste. When ready to serve, add tomatoes. Drizzle with desired amount of Bloody Mary Vinaigrette. Place Rubbed Steak Strips over tomatoes. Top with celery leaves. Serve immediately with remaining vinaigrette.

Place steaks on a large rimmed baking sheet; season with seasoning blend. Mix sugar and next 3 ingredients in a small bowl; rub all over steaks. Cover; refrigerate 1-3 hours.

Let steaks stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Blot them a bit.

Build a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill, or heat a gas grill to high. Brush grates with oil. Grill to desired doneness, about 5-7 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let rest for 10 minutes. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool; cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before slicing.

We didn’t have a grill worth a shucky-darn, so knowing the handicap, we seared the steaks in a heavy pan, flipped them, and slammed them into a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 5 minutes.

Let the meat rest for about 6 minutes, then slice thinly.

Bloody Mary Vinny

Make this vinny “to taste” – the ingredient measurements are more for general proportions than a rule.

Yield: Makes about 1 cup

originally from Southern Living

Ingredients

1/2 cup spicy Bloody Mary mix – we used Tabasco brand, medium

1/4 cup olive oil – for a thicker dressing, add more oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon hot sauce

3/4 teaspoon celery salt – we used more of the Food City Steak & Burger seasoning salt here.

Berries and Scoops of Ricotta with Balsamic-Honey-Mint Syrup

berries with balsamic-honey-mint reduction

Recipe courtesy of Food Network Kitchen

Total Time: 10 min

Prep: 10 min

Yield:4 servings

Level:Easy

Directions

Boil 1 cup balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons honey and a sprig of mint in a small saucepan until syrupy, about 7 minutes. Cool the syrup slightly, then drizzle over sliced strawberries and/or blackberries and ricotta.